I've been working on the work bench for the past few days. It seems as if those kitchen cabinet drawers just aren't up to holding 50# to 60# of tools. So....I'm rebuilding the drawers in a much more hefty fashion than their first incarnation.
| Woodworking... Yuck! The stuff is dirtier than sanding plastic airplane parts. The new drawers have a stained birch front with Min-Wax (TM), clear, gloss, polyurethane covering for durability. Eventually all the particle board fronts (painted white) will be replaced. The rear of the drawers are also being replaced and drawer stops installed to prevent the impact loads from removing the fronts when the drawers go closed against the frame. |
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With all the dust from the carpentry and glass sanding I
added some dust filters made from 20 inch window fans and good 20 inch
furnace filters. Note one fan on each side of the fuselage. There is
also one inside the front of the fuselage. If you look carefully you can see the pattern of the motor mount in the dust on the filter. This is after one week's use. |
4 Hours September 19, 2002
Well, I finally found the floor in the shop and have gotten back to doing a bit of work on the G-III. I sanded the windshield bow area and then washed it down with Acetone. I noted the resin was beginning to thicken a bit so I mixed up a 250 gram batch with the proper amount of catalyst. I put a thin layer of resin on the sanded and cleaned surface and then placed a 1 1/2 inch 60 inch bi-directional cloth (cut on the 0 degree bias) onto the *sticky* surface. Then stippled the cloth into place with resin.
| I laid in a 59 inch strip and started to stipple the center, but the boat load of resin had begun to gel. I poured the resin into another container to let it cure. I cleaned the brush in Acetone and mixed up a 50 gram batch of resin (last in the can). That allowed me to finish the second layer in the bow. |
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Notice the "Whiskers" from cutting the cloth on the zero bias. |
The next step was to promote a new gallon of resin with 4 g of Cobalt. Mix thoroughly and let set for a while. I plan on mixing up a 25 gram batch to check the gel and cure times. Then finish the windshield bow yet tonight with the 58 inch strip of cloth..
4 Hours September 19, 2002
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I cut 5, 2 inch wide strips of bidirectional cloth on the 45. I did one lay-up over the windshield bow reinforcements. I also sanded and cleaned the front windshield flange. |
4 Hours September 21, 2002
It was windy today so I started out by opening the big shop doors, getting out the high pressure air hose and blowing the dust off every thing and letting nature blow the dust outdoors.
| I installed one of the two inch wide strips around the front of the
windshield flange. I found it to be a very difficult lay-up as the long strips
keep wanting to stretch, but I did get the first one in. Note the
whiskers are still there.
I have a bit of trimming to do as I didn't get the lay-ups trimmed while they were still in the green state. |
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The manual says the lay-ups around the windshield can be made from a number of shorter pieces. I cut the long strips into roughly 18 inch lengths and did the lay-ups for the entire windshield. That leaves me ready to set the fuselage upright on stands. It's ready for the bulkheads and firewall.
2 Hours September 24, 2002
I trimmed the outside seam filling and started sanding for the outside lay-ups.
There are gaps in the work on the G-III as I'm running 3 inch conduit in from the power pole to the house and upgrading the service. The current service is so old it has what is called a "Split Buss" and is only 100 Amps. The new one is 200 Amps. The essentials (furnace, Microwave, some lighting, and certainly...the computers) will be fed from breakers in a transfer switch box at the side of the big panel. That will allow feeding the "essentials" from either the power mains, or a 9 KW generator. Only a couple of miles out of town and we have two or three failures a year. If I get the thing in and we never have a failure again, I'll figure it was good insurance.
We have to finish this work soon as the power company is going to hook up the new service this Friday and the inspector has to sign my work off before they can do their work. I just can't figure out why I have to dig the trench 30 inches deep and if they do it the trench only has to be 18 inches. Which circuit will I hook up first? The lights in the room where the breaker panel is mounted!
At any rate as soon as I can get the trench filled back in the paving company is coming out to do the drive way. Pressure? What Pressure?
September 25, 2002
Time will tell. I haven't gone to bed yet and it's 4:00 AM
November 17, 2002
It's been a while and I have some catching up to do. At least I shot a lot of photos. SOooo... I'm going to fill in the text and then go back, get the dates right and put in some photos. It really shouldn't take long as all the other projects have kept progress to a minimum. Anybody remember what I did on the 25th of September? Oh! In case any one wonders, yes we did get the new electrical service installed, the feed underground, and the asphalt in the driveway. I ran an extra conduit for "just-in-case" what ever it might be needed.
I'm working on two fronts. The Firewall and the Wing Fixture.
Wing Fixture: Where every one else glues theirs to the floor, I decided to put wheels under mine. Well, wheels and leveling jacks. I had seen some jacks that just cam into place and are adjustable. I figured they would be just the thing. So after building the frame I went to order the jacks. I couldn't find them. It seems the supplier no longer carries them. I may end up having to weld a large nut on the wheel plate and run threaded rod through, but I think I can find some of the jacks.
3 Hours November 16, 2002 ( not counting the hours finishing the Oak )
The Grid was laid out on both sides of the Rochelle foam.
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Laying out the one inch grid on the Rochelle Foam Firewall core.. The foam requires 1/8th inch deep cuts vertically and horizontally every inch. This makes the foam more flexible and it gives the Q-Cell mix a better bonding surface. The foam is first coated with a medium Q-Cell mix then two layers of bi-directional cloth cut on the 45 degree bias. NOTE...the use of knee pads to protect the foam.
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Laying out the horizontal lines. Note the smooth finish and pattern of the Oak plywood on which I'm working. It took 4 coats of Urethane finish with the surface sanded down between each coat. That Oak will eventually become the supports in the Wing Fixture. I'm going to have one fancy wing fixture with a finish like furniture. |
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The foam with the lines scribed on both sides. It still needs the 1/8th inch deep cuts made. I need to re-shoot this one. |
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This frame was cut and welded over the last two weeks with a little done here and a little done there, so I've not put a specific date on it's construction. Total time so far, about 4 hours.
If I'm unable get the wood to dry straight, I may have to build the entire fixture, except the templates out of steel. One 12 foot 2 X 4 twisted over 45 degrees in less than 2 weeks. I apparently didn't use enough weight. I tried straightening it and it snapped. Some of the 2 X 6s are also starting to twist. I may have to soak them and them put them under pressure in a warm room.
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One end of the base for the wing fixture. Each corner has a 4 X 6 X 3/16ths inch steel plate welded in place to support the wheels and the leveling jacks...If I can ever find any. |
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The other end of the base shown with the welder. Note the 4 X 6 inch plates. |
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The "Chop Saw" I used to cut the 1" square steel tubing. |
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An example of the Chop Saw work. |
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Here is one of the filter fans set up on the bottom of the inverted fuselage. The fan is pointed at the thermostat. With the fan pointed at the thermostat the temperature remains within 2 degrees of its set-point. Without the fan the temperature varies over 10 degrees. Note the very dark filter. This is "after" it has been cleaned. The dark color is from the welding. The two micron filters will load up to the point where no air can be felt coming out of the fan. |
Wellll...The The Wing Fixture base is ready to have the actual fixture constructed and mounted on the base. First, I want to experiment with using Dacron cloth for a "Peel Ply" and to experiment with vacuum bagging large flat pieces like the firewall.
2 Hours November 19, 2002
A bit of cleaning in the shop, and picked up the parts for the try at vacuum bagging. I have all one side of the Rochelle Foam scribed and 12 lines in the vertical on the other. Not quite as easy as it sounds. No, I didn't get any resin poured, or vacuum bagging, or Peel Ply experiments done.
2 Hours November 20, 2002
Well, I finished up the cuts on the Rochelle Foam. Now to Try the vacuum bagging and the Peel Ply experiment.
Maybe I can make some more progress tonight.
2 hours November 22, 2002
I made a 2 layer lay-up from two scrap pieces about 5 X 12 inches. Then added a piece of Dacron cloth about 2 inches wider and 2 inches longer than the lay-up. Using the squeegee I use to spread the resin, I smoothed out the Dacron cloth until it was in good contact with the lay-up.
1 hour November 23, 2002
I checked on the lay-up and removed the peel ply. It worked remarkably well, However I found that I need to be careful not to apply too much pressure when working out the peel ply as there were some dry spots that were originally wet.
I was going to lift the lay-up, but it had stuck in several places even though I used release agent on the support. I went ahead and pulled it off, but as the lay-up hadn't completely cured, pulling it off the board caused numerous separations. All-in-all it was a good experiment.
2 Hours November 24, 2002
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Joyce found a great tool that is normally used for
cutting cloth. It cuts the fiberglass cloth as easily as a piece of
cotton. It sure does make cutting large, or long pieces far easier than using a pair of shears. |
I cleaned up the cutting bench and work area. I even managed to find the floor in a few spots. Then I cut two 30 X 40 inch pieces of bidirectional cloth on a 45 degree bias for the fire wall
3 Hours November 21, 2002
| I took a 4 foot square, flat sheet of plywood and gave it a good coat of Urethane finish. After the finished dried I marked out the size of the 30 X 40 inch foam on the surface using duct tape. I then drilled three rows of evenly spaced holes large enough to pass a #10 screw. I also drilled holes evenly spaced between the corner screws and the center one, making 4 more holes. |
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The Q-Cell coating/seal curing. |
3 Hours November 22, 2002
I aligned the foam and using the #10 screws from the back, carefully screwed the foam to the plywood.
The next step was to make a medium Q-Cell mix to cover and seal the surface of the foam. I catalyzed about 180 grams of resin, then stirred in Q-Cells to make a medium mix. Starting at the center of the foam the mix was poured on and spread out using the rubber squeegee until the entire surface was covered. It took a total of two batches of the Q-Cell mix.
6 Hours November 23, 2002
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I covered the surface of the firewall with resin, then laid out the cloth which is kind of tricky, but I did get it aligned. Next I mixed up another batch of resin and working from the center out, thoroughly wet the glass cloth and then smoothed it out using the squeegee and brush to get rid of air bubbles. I intentionally made the lay-up a little on the wet side. |
I went out about 4 hours later and the surface was smooth enough to do the second lay-up. The time I just laid out the cloth and wet it from above. Using the brush and squeegee to apply and spread the resin, I coated the cloth and worked out the air bubbles (or most of them. On the large lay-ups it works much better to first wet the layer underneath. That makes for a better lay-up, but it's not as easy to spread out the cloth.
6 Hours Sunday, November 24, 2002
| Using a flat, 1 inch wide wood chisel I cut the edges of the foam loose
from the wood. I tried to be careful with the lay-up, but there were still
a few runs of resin over the side. This resulted in some chips breaking off the
edges of the foam, but nothing major, or in a critical area.
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Wood chips stuck to the bottom side of the foam due to resin |
4 Hours Monday, November 25, 2002
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| Using a high speed grinder with a sanding drum, I cleaned off the excess,
cured resin, from the raw side of the foam.
Using short pieces of 2 X 6s along with some paper towels I weighted the foam down on the big sheet of Oak plywood and then hot glued the firewall blank in place. I used duct tape around the foam to catch any over run this time. I again created a large batch of medium Q-cell mix and coated the raw side of the Rochelle Foam. I also used the mix to glue a couple of pieces of foam back in place. |
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4 Hours Tuesday, November 26, 2002
I have a few spots to fill on the back side as not all of the screw holes filled and I'd like to fix the rest of those notches along the edge, even though most of them will be cut off and thrown away. Having a smooth surface makes it easier to do the fiberglass cloth lay-ups. Unfortunately the tension on the firewall caused it to pull away from the underlying support
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Sooo... I covered the surface with paper towels and really weighed it down. 8 tile "edgers", one concrete block, and two 60# pails of sand. After the hot glue cooled it did not pop up this time! Of course it's going to be a real bear to remove once finished. |
The temperature in the room was lowered to 62 degrees F and the room was allowed to cold soak to lengthen the working life of the resin.
5 Hours Wednesday, November 27, 2002
I filled the filled the notches along the edges of the foam with a *thick* Q-Cell mix, fairly rich on the catalyst. With heat the mix had not only cured, but was ready for sanding in a few hours.
After block sanding the areas that had been filled, I fitted and smoothed a 31 X 41 inch bi-directional piece of glass cloth cut on the 45 bias to fit the 30 X 40 foam sheet. 2/3rds of the sheet was rolled back and the underlying surface was coated with resin. The cloth was then rolled back over the resin and the other 1/3 was rolled back with the procedure being repeated. Next the cloth was saturated with resin. A squeegee was used to smooth the cloth, spread out the resin, and help remove air bubbles. Stippling was also used. Once not air bubbles were to be seen (they show up later out of nowhere), the room temperature was brought back up to 80 F and left over night.
3 Hours Thursday, November 28, 2002 (Thanksgiving)
The previous lay-up looked good although it had a few rich spots and a bunch of "brush hair" on the surface. I turned the temperature back to 62 degrees. Then I sanded the surface with 80 grit sandpaper. The surface was cleaned and I waited until after the family had gone home after the Thanksgiving day feast and football.
The shop had cooled down and cold soaked again. Again I fitted and smoothed a 31 X 41 sheet of glass cloth to match the surface and folded back 2/3rds of it. As before I mixed up a 180 gram batch of resin with the minimum catalyst at 0.75%, coated the exposed surface and smoothed out the glass over the resin. Then did the last 1/3rd. That was followed by spreading a resin mix over the cloth and working it in with the squeegee. The excess resin was also removed in this step. Stubborn air bubbles were removed with stippling.
So... The second side of the firewall is now done according to the manual, although it needs to set "untouched" for 24 hours. I now need to get the fuselage upright with the proper supports cut to form fit under it. The firewall shape needs to be double checked and then the firewall marked by holding it up to the front of the fuselage while it is marked from the inside. The markings will then be checked against the template. The inside of the firewall has been left resin rich in the header tank area. Once cut to shape two or three more *resin rich* lay-ups will be done where the firewall forms the end of the header tank.
2 Hours Saturday, November 30, 2002
I used the high speed die grinder with a cut-off wheel to trim the excess glass and resin from the edges of the fire wall blank.
Joyce and I turned the fuselage right side up with the front being held by the plywood frame and the tail setting on a padded sawhorse. I need to move it back far enough to fit the cowl without having to open the shop door. (It's cold outside! 18 F last night)
I then got out a sheet of 1/2 inch foam and cut one of the rib reinforcements that goes just a tad in front of the back edge of the front belly pan...Actually 12 3/16 inches aft of the back edge of the cowl flange. Cut according to the template the fit is a little off, so I'm going to have to cut another allowing for the differences.
2 Hours Sunday, December 1, 2002
Joyce and I moved the supports back 3 feet. I'm having problems with the 2 X 4s and 2 X 6s changing shape as they dry in the shop. One 2 X 4 (with weight on it) twisted over 45 degrees in less that two weeks. I clamped it to the steel frame which will be the base for the wing fixture. I figured that being clamped, it would slowly straighten. It just kept twisting until it broke the 2 X 4.
I cut a new rib reinforcement, and traced out another.
| I added two 1 X 4s to each side of the frame and a 2 X 4 across the bottom. |
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371 Hours to date
The
says you are caller
If you have comments, suggestions, or corrections email me at EAA Chapter 1093
